The company will also be upgrading Indica, Indigo and Nexon architectures to meet the new safety norms and they too would aim to deliver 5-star rating, assured the company.

The Tata Altroz premium hatchback is set to hit the road in the second half of 2019 and it will take on Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Hyundai Elite i20.

GENEVA: Gaining confidence after securing five-star rating on safety for its Nexon SUV, Tata Motors has decided to up its game by promising to build the safest portfolio of cars built in India, in an endeavour to do its bit to reduce road fatalities in the country in the next two to three years. India's largest automobile company in terms of revenues has vowed to build cars not just to attain 5-star rating as per Global NCAP standards but even exceed the country's minimum safety rating requirement prescribed in India's new safety norms.

With outperformance over the last three years saw the company double its market share in India to almost 7%. Tata Motors will now bank on its new generation architectures Alfa and Omega which will form the basis of over a dozen products in the coming 3 to 5 years. This new range of products which are high on safety and features will help company challenge and grab share from Maruti and Hyundai and cross into a double-digit market share.

To be sure, India ranks number one in deaths due to road accidents in the entire world at 1.5 lakh deaths in a year due to accidents on Indian roads. According to reports, 60% of the road deaths registered is of the age group of 18-35, who are primary income earners of the family.

Speaking on the sidelines of 89th Geneva Motor Show, Guenter Butschek, MD of Tata Motors said, "If there is a star, I would like to have five of them on safety. That is the new normal for vehicles at Tata Motors."

The company on Tuesday unveiled 4 global premiers at the Geneva Motor Show 2019 that included the Buzzard SUV – Harrier’s elder sibling, the Altroz premium hatchback, the Altroz electric vehicle with a range of over 300 kilometres per charge and H2X small SUV at the Geneva Motor Show.

Not only these new generation models based on modern modular architectures will be able to meet the offset frontal crash regulations that will be enforced from October of 2019, but the new generation vehicles will be equipped with active and passive safety features that include, Electronic Stability Program, airbags, seat belt reminders, child Isofix seats, reverse parking camera amongst host of other features that are usually seen in higher-priced cars.

The Tata Altroz premium hatchback is set to hit the road in the second half of 2019 and it will take on Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Hyundai Elite i20. The Altroz will be the first off the block to attain the 5-star rating on the new architecture, including its EV avatar which is planned for 2020.

The company will also be upgrading its legacy XO (Indica and Indigo) and X1 (Nexon) architectures to meet the new safety norms and they too would aim to deliver 5-star rating, assured the company.

Butschek said Tata Motors of the future will set the benchmarks on design, safety, electrification and different mobility concepts to wean away buyers from its nearest rivals Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai or Mahindra.

The MD of the company said it is on course to attain the EBIDTA positive returns on the passenger vehicle business and his next focus is on becoming the EBIT positive.

( This correspondent is attending the Geneva International Motor Show on the invitation of Tata Motors)

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